The Christmas Case
by Kelly of the midnight dawn
Summary: The SVU nineth season Christmas episode. A girl goes missing from a shopping mall the week before Christmas. Can Elliot and Olivia find her in time? Rated T to be safe.
1. Chapter 1

**The Christmas Case**

**Chapter 1:**

**Disclaimer: All I want for Christmas is for them to be mine so Elliot and Olivia can make out under the mistletoe. But sadly I do not currently own them.**

**A/N: I'm still very much devoted to finishing "True Affection" but I decided I'd start writing a Christmas story. I'm gonna try and write this as if it were an actual episode so if all goes well there should be five chapters. This story is set in this current season, post "Paternity" since the SVU writers have never written a Christmas episode. I hope I do the show justice and am able to abstain from my usual EO love fests, hard as it will be. **

**Dick Wolf, please hire me. I promise I'll never go on strike. You can pay me peanuts and treat me like crap. Please?**

Linda Sawyer's cell phone rang just as she walked out of the clothing store and into the open space of the mall with her eight year old daughter Amy and her two year old son Cooper in tow. She set the huge bag containing her purchases on a nearby bench.

Cooper climbed up beside the bag and smiled up at his mother "Scweam Mama?" he asked.

"Soon baby," she said as she rummaged through her purse for the phone "We'll go get ice cream soon."

"Mom," Amy pointed to the indoor fountain only a few feet from where they were standing "Can I have some money to make a wish?"

Linda smiled at her daughter and hurriedly threw some change in her direction before locating the phone "Be careful," she called as the eight year old scampered to the edge of the fountain.

Linda flipped her phone open "Yeah," she said breathlessly. A smile crossed her face "Oh, hi… yeah… we're almost done… Cooper wants ice cream… Oh yeah, we'll definitely be there on Saturday… Okay, love you mom… bye," she hung up and bent down to pick up Cooper and her shopping bag.

"Amy," she called "It's time to go," she turned around to see the fountain where her daughter had been. There was no sign of Amy.

Linda began to panic "Amy! Honey!" she screamed as she looked around desperately. She spotted a mall security guard and quickly ran over to him "My daughter," she was frantic "She… She was right there."

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"Amy Sawyer," an officer explained as he lead Elliot and Olivia to the fountain where the girl had been last seen "Eight years old, light brown hair pulled back in a ponytail, blue eyes. Last seen wearing sneakers, jeans and a red sweater with a Christmas tree on the front"

"How long ago did her mother notice she was missing?" Olivia asked.

The officer checked his watch "About fifteen minutes," he replied.

"Where's the mother now?" Elliot asked, looking around.

"She's in the mall security office, waiting for you," the officer answered him without turning around. The officer left the two detectives to talk and walked away.

Olivia surveyed the scene. This wasn't the first case she'd ever handled where a child had gone missing from a shopping mall but never had a child been taken so close to Christmas. She cleared her throat and turned to her partner "Let's go see what the mom has to say."

Elliot nodded and followed Olivia to the security office.

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"I only had my back turned for a moment," Linda Sawyer said as tears continued to pour down her face. "She wanted to throw some coins into the fountain, make a wish on them. I told her to be careful. I didn't think… Oh God."

"Ms. Sawyer," Olivia began in a kind voice "Did you notice anyone strange while you were shopping?"

Linda wiped at her eyes in vein before she spoke "No, I was so focused on getting all the shopping done and keeping my kids in line… I wasn't paying attention," she broke into sobs realizing her error.

Elliot handed her a tissue "Where else did you go today besides the clothing store?" he asked.

Linda sniffled and wiped her eyes again though it did her little good "Well," she began, furrowing her brow as she tried to recall exactly what they had done that day "We went to the toy store to buy presents for Amy and Cooper's cousins and we got our pictures taken at the photo place. Then we grabbed lunch at the food court and… after that I took the kids to see the mall Santa."

"Can we see those?" Olivia asked, indicating the photos that Linda was holding in her hand. Linda handed them over. Olivia pulled out a photo of Amy, smiling brightly and sitting in front of a violet backdrop "Can we borrow this?" she asked. When looking for a missing child, it was always good to have a recent photo of the child and in that department, they couldn't hope to do any better than this.

"Sure," Linda sniffled as she picked up Cooper from where he had been playing on the floor with a toy truck that one of the security guards had given him. "You'll find her, won't you?" she asked hopefully.

"We'll do everything we can," Elliot answered honestly.

Olivia handed one of her business cards to Linda "If you remember anything that you might have seen…"

Linda nodded and the two detectives left the security office.

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"Yeah, I took that picture," the photographer, a man by the name of Joe Margulies said when Olivia showed him the photo of Amy "Cute kid, patient too. Sat still for the picture, not like her brother. Had to pull out the puppet for that one."

"The puppet?" Elliot inquired skeptically.

Joe reached into a box that sat beside his camera "This guy," he said as he produced an Elmo puppet and to Elliot and Olivia's surprise and, at least on Olivia's part, amusement, he did a near flawless impersonation of the beloved Sesame Street character "Sometimes the kids don't listen to Joe. But they sit still when Elmo tells them too."

Olivia couldn't help the smile that crossed her face "Do you remember if anyone was watching the Sawyers?"

"Elmo doesn't remember seeing anyone," Joe continued in the Elmo voice.

"Okay," Olivia said "If you remember anything…"

"Elmo will make sure he calls the police pretty lady," Joe persisted with the impression.

"Thank you," Olivia said, part of her feeling flattered and the other part feeling relieved that she could walk away from this interview soon. She turned and left the photo place.

But Elliot lagged behind a moment longer "Your lips moved," he told Joe before he turned and followed his partner.

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"Where's jolly old Saint Nick?" Elliot asked as he and Olivia approached a man in an elf costume handing out candy canes to children who looked a little disappointed.

The man turned to them and groaned. He was having a long day and he was feeling more than a little overwhelmed at the moment with all the children asking him the same question that Elliot had just asked. "There was a problem with the equipment at his workshop," the man said loud enough so all the children in the near vicinity could hear "So he hopped on his sleigh and headed back up there to make sure he'll be ready for Christmas."

Elliot and Olivia shared a quick glance before Olivia stepped forward and knelt down in front of the nearest child. She began to chat with all the children, effectively distracting them so Elliot could do what he did best.

Elliot grabbed the annoying man by the bells on his red suit and held him tight, resisting the urge to shake the arrogant son of a bitch. He pulled out his badge and shoved it in the man's face "Know what this means?" he asked in a low, dangerous voice "This means that you don't give me that line of bull that you've been feeding these kids. There's a kid missing and I don't have time to be screwing around with you. Where did he go?"

"Okay, okay," the elf choked out "Ease up on the grip man, I'll tell ya," Elliot let him go and after a few moments of catching his breath the man spoke again "He asked me if he could take off early. He didn't say where. Wanted me to cover for him but he took the suit so…" he shrugged "Here I am, handing out candy canes to ungrateful brats who just keep wining 'Where's Santa? Where's Santa'. Well, I wish I knew where Santa was 'cause I'd kick his ass."

Olivia's cell phone rang and she excused herself from the animated conversation she had been having with the children and stood up to answer it "Benson," she spoke clearly into the phone. A few moments later, she tapped Elliot on the shoulder.

Much to the elf's joy, Elliot turned his attention away from him "What's up?" he asked, noticing the look on Olivia's face.

"Morales found something on the surveillance tapes he thinks we should see," she said seriously as she led him away. The children waved goodbye to them and Olivia turned back briefly "Bye kids," she smiled softly at them.

"Have a Merry Christmas," Elliot added as they left.

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"Unfortunately," Morales explained as he led them to where the tapes were waiting for them "There is no security camera that covers the fountain where Amy disappeared from, but," he added in the way he always did before he told them of some amazing thing he had been able to find for them "They do cover all the exits."

"That's a lot of tape to go through," Elliot remarked.

"Not necessarily," Morales said, typing something on his keyboard "I decided to focus on the exit closest to the fountain first and I got lucky," he pulled up the video.

"So you've got an image of our perp?" Olivia asked.

"Yeah," Morales shook his head as the scene played out on the screen in front of them.

"There's Amy," Olivia said, leaning closer to the screen when she abruptly leaned back "What the…?"

"Oh God," Elliot groaned. There on the screen was Amy Sawyer holding hands with and smiling up at…

Elliot and Olivia stared at each other for a long time "Is that…?" Olivia asked though she already knew the answer.

"Santa Claus," Elliot finished for her, staring at the screen in abject disgust.

**A/N: Okay, this is where the theme music comes in. I'll try to update soon. Please review and tell me what you thought.**


	2. Chapter 2

**The Christmas Case**

**Chapter 2:**

**A/N: We all know SVU is a show of many twists. And I've tried to capture that here. Prepare for a biggie. Please let me know what you think.**

"Tucker Brody, forty seven," Munch read from the employee file that the mall had provided them "His background check was clean."

"It's got to be an alias," Olivia commented from her desk as she shifted through a stack of papers.

"Not necessarily," Munch told the group "You said you saw a Santa on the security tape. That doesn't mean it was Brody."

"Yeah right Munch," Elliot said almost angrily from where he was standing, ready to move as soon as they had something "The mall was just crawling with guys in Santa suits," he stepped forward glaring at Munch "The guy took an eight year old kid. Cut the crap," he turned and stormed out of the squad room.

Without a word, Olivia stood up and followed him. She caught up with him in the hallway "Elliot," she called after him.

He stopped and turned to her. His face was a mixture of anger and despair "A guy dressed like Santa took a kid, in a shopping mall, there had to be at least a hundred people who saw something," he said as his shoulders slumped.

"I know," Olivia said compassionately "But getting mad at Munch isn't going to help find Amy Sawyer any quicker."

Elliot nodded "I need some air," he told Olivia as walked past her.

She stood there for a few seconds longer than she probably should have, watching him leave. This was hurting him and he seemed to be taking his normal approach to the things that got to him and was keeping it to himself. She would try to talk to him again later. She sighed and turned to head back into the squad room.

"I'm just saying," Munch was lecturing Fin and Lake when she returned "From an early age, Christian children are taught to believe that an old man breaks into their houses while they're sleeping and leaves presents. They place a lot of trust in Santa Claus."

"Do we have anything yet?" Olivia asked as she returned to her desk.

"Maybe," Lake said, looking up from his computer. Olivia moved her chair closer to his desk. He turned to her "Your partner okay?" he asked.

Olivia shook her head but answered in the affirmative "Yeah, he'll be fine," she said unsurely. "What've you got?" she asked, turning the topic back to business.

"I found this," he said and pointed to the screen of his computer.

Olivia leaned closer and read "It's a police report from Nebraska from almost three years ago," she observed, not yet understanding what this had to do with their case.

"Yeah," Lake nodded "The guy goes to pick his daughter up at kindergarten one day only to find out that his wife already picked her up. He never hears from her again."

"It's heartbreaking," Olivia remarked "But what does this have to do with Amy Sawyer?"

Lake typed something on his keyboard and a picture of the missing five year old appeared "Look familiar?" he asked.

Olivia scrutinized the picture. Lot's of little girls around that age looked alike "Do you think that someone though Amy was this…" she looked closer to read the name "Anne Brody…?" the name rang a bell instantly in her mind "Wait," she grabbed the mouse from Lake and called up the name of the father who had reported the girl missing.

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Elliot paced the roof, talking into his cell phone "Yeah, I can pick it up… No, it's not a problem… There's still six days until Christmas, that's plenty of time… Don't worry about it Kathy… I can handle it… I love you too… Bye," he hung up and turned just in time to see Olivia stepping out onto the roof.

"What's up?" she asked as she approached him.

"Dickie wants this new video game for Christmas and Kathy can't seem to find it anywhere," he explained.

Olivia leaned against the wall overlooking the city below and turned her gaze to rest on her partner "There's still time," she said reassuringly.

"I know," Elliot said as he leaned against the wall beside her.

"How's the baby?" Olivia asked suddenly. She hadn't seen Elliot Jr. since the day he had been born.

"He's good," Elliot replied, his voice far away sounding. Suddenly he turned to her "Why would someone take a child from a shopping mall this close to Christmas?" he asked. When Olivia didn't answer right away, he continued "I used to take my kids to see Santa at the mall every year," he hung his head "All the things I ever suspected lurking in the shadows of everyday life, I never thought of this one."

Silence fell between them for a long time before Olivia spoke "We think Brody took Amy because he thought she was his daughter."

Elliot was about to say something when Lake and Fin appeared in the doorway to the roof "What have you got now?" Olivia asked when she saw the looks on their faces.

"Last known photo of Lola Brody," Lake said as he handed her the computer printout.

Olivia and Elliot stared at the face looking back at them from the page. "Son of a bitch," Olivia breathed.

"Linda Sawyer," Elliot stated.

"Amy went with him willingly because Brody is her father," Lake told them.

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"I don't know what you're talking about," Linda said as she rocked her fussy toddler in her arms "I've lived in New York all my life."

"You're a liar," Elliot stated plainly. He was fighting to keep his emotions under control but he was finding it difficult.

"Linda," Olivia said, trying to play the good cop in the situation while at the same time, trying to keep her partner from becoming the bad cop when it wasn't warranted "We know that you legally changed your name and your daughter's name. We know about your husband and that he had filed for separation. We just want to hear your side of the story."

Linda set Cooper down and watched as he scampered off to his room "We were fighting with each other all the time, nothing physical, just words. He told me that he wanted a divorce and that he was going to take Amy away from me. I guess I snapped. One day I picked her up from school and I just kept driving," she sighed and leaned heavily against the kitchen counter "So you're saying Amy's with Tucker?"

"We believe so, yes," Olivia told her.

A look of pure relief flooded Linda's face "At least she's safe," she turned to Elliot and Olivia "Are you going to arrest me now?"

Olivia looked at Elliot, his emotions seemed to be well under control now; the rage that had been bubbling below the surface was now gone. They stared at each other in confusion for a moment. Neither of them had any intention of arresting Linda; Amy was their first priority. Olivia turned back to Linda "Not at this time," she told her.

"Just don't leave town," Elliot added as he and Olivia turned to leave the house.

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"This is just one big mess," Elliot remarked as he and Olivia walked down the sidewalk together "She took the kid then three years later he takes the kid back."

"I don't like this," Olivia observed as they reached the car "How did Brody know where to find them?"

Elliot's cell phone rang before he could respond and he flipped it open "Stabler," he answered. After a brief pause he thanked the person on the other end and hung up. He turned to Olivia "Why don't we ask him? State troopers just pulled him over a few miles from the state line."

"Amy…?" Olivia asked immediately.

"Safe and sound in the backseat," Elliot said as he slid into the driver's seat "They're on their way to the precinct now."

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"Santa said he was going to take me to Daddy," Amy said as she picked up the juice box had set in front of her.

Olivia nodded. When the state troopers had picked up Brody, he had still been wearing the Santa suit "Did Santa say anything else?" she asked gently.

Amy was quiet for a bit before answering "He said we were going to go far away, somewhere where Mom wouldn't be able to break us up again."

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Tucker Brady sat across the table from Elliot, still wearing the Santa suit, minus the hat and beard "I just wanted to see my kid for Christmas," he explained.

"How did you know that your wife was in New York?" Elliot asked in an understanding tone. He didn't know what he would do if he hadn't seen his kids in over two years. He would probably go insane.

"I didn't," Brody explained "I just got lucky I guess," he laughed humorlessly "I figured it was time for a fresh start so I came out here to make a new life for myself," he paused and looked away "It hasn't been going so well. I've been taking odd jobs here and there. A couple of weeks ago I got a job as a Santa. I love seeing all those happy kids," a small smile spread across his face before it quickly disappeared "My first day on the job, I saw that lying bitch comeing out of the toy store. She had an armload of bags and didn't see me, not that she would have recognized me in the suit," he gave another laugh that lacked emotion. "When I got off that night, I saw her again and I followed her home. I wasn't going to do anything but today… Amy came to see me. She sat on my lap and told me that all she wanted for Christmas this year was to see me," Tucker broke down crying.

Elliot nodded and offered Tucker Brody a box of tissues as he watched the other man falling apart.

**A/N: Well, there you have chapter two. I hope you enjoyed it. I'll try to update again soon.**


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